Tuesday, June 8, 2010

So, I had a CT scan while in Seattle last week (on Tuesday). The largest tumor in my left lung had grown about 0.9cm (to 3.4 cm by 1.2 cm) over the past five months. There were also larger than normal lymph nodes under my left armpit (very visible to the naked eye), under the left clavicle, near the breast bone, and in my left groin. And, maybe a cancer nest under the skin under (but not in) the right armpit. I knew about all of them so I'm not too too worried about it.

Yesterday was my Herceptin treatment. I was tired from it again - although hard to tell if it was from the treatment or not getting a great night's sleep the night before. It was also a treatment where they got my blood to measure my CMP/CBC and tumor markers. I also asked Dr. K if he could get my Vitamin D level. My vitamin D level was 21.5 and "normal" is 30. I started taking 1,000 IU's of Vitamin D3 about a month ago; I just called Dr. K's office and asked him what he thought I should do and his reply was that I start taking 2,000 IU's each day.

Vitamin D3 plays a role in our body's immune system and several studies suggest that insufficient Vitamin D3 in our bodies lead to increased cancer risk. So, you bet I'm gonna increase my Vitamin D3 level!

My gut feeling is that this might constitute a spike in the CEA. Remember that last week, I had Cytoxan and the t-cell infusion. The CEA measures the amount of dead blood cells (if I remember correctly and some research that I shared awhile back said that a spike in the CEA might suggest that a treatment is working as the number of dead cancer cells has increased due to the treatment.

So, at the moment, I think that the combo treatments I've received are helping get the cancer back under control. Yay!

1 comment:

We have something else in common besides our undying affection for Herceptin. I, too, have a very low vitamin D level (lower than yours). I tried 2000 units a day for a long time with no success. Then my doc put me on a prescription pill one time per week, 100,000 units each. Then that did not do it so now I am on that pill twice a week. If your over-the-counter D does not work, ask your doctor about a prescription.